Smith Lake is back to its tranquil self again today, but just yards away from water's edge, it's a different story.

"If I'd have stayed there two more seconds standing in that door watching it, why, i might have been under that," said Jerry Stephenson.

He had to crawl out a window after trees crushed his mobile home.

Stephenson said the storm blew in across the lake so fast there was no warning, despite a tornado siren 10 minutes earlier.

"Well, sad part of it is, the trailer's 45 years old and they won't insure one; I've tried it and they won't touch it so, what you see is the way it is, but I'll get another one, no problem," he said.

Stephenson says the way the top of a tree outside his home was twisted around and the rest of it was blown about 80 feet away makes him think it was actually a tornado that came through and not just straight line winds that actually destroyed his home.

"It happens; can't mess with mother nature you know? I just thank God I was out of it you know," Stephenson reflected.

The storm blew down dozens of trees at Speegle’s Marina, demolishing several campers and mobile homes.

But one woman who lost a camper this way a few years ago was a lot more fortunate this time.

"It just went between our campers, I figure we're just really blessed," said Martha Holt.

Although authorities cannot confirm a tornado touchdown in Alabama yesterday, a North Carolina twister killed one person and injured three people as part of the same storm system.